Born Durk D. Banks, Lil Durk grew up in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago's South Side. The rapper/singer started issuing mixtapes through his collective OTF (Only the Family) in August 2011 with I'm a Hitta and quickly followed it with I'm Still a Hitta (April 2012) and Life Ain't No Joke (October 2012), the latter of which came out just after the typically melodic and kicked-back "L's Anthem," his debut single for Def Jam. The same year, he was featured on a string of tracks with fellow Chicago natives and close associates like Lil Reese, Fredo Santana, and Chief Keef. "Dis Ain't What U Want," his second Def Jam single, was released in May 2013, just before his affiliation with French Montana's Coke Boys was made official. one of the preeminent rappers from the Southside of Chicago, Lil Durk set himself apart as a teenager in the early 2010s by tempering his raw lyricism with pop appeal -- an approach that has proven to be influential in his hometown and subsequent distant scenes indebted to the city's innovative drill movement. Durk has followed numerous mixtape releases through his Only the Family label/collective by affiliating with assorted major labels, boosting his commercial exposure with consistent high placements on the Billboard 200